McDonald’s Testing a Sriracha Big Mac

McDonald’s is announcing today that it has begun testing a Sriracha Big Mac burger in the Columbus, Ohio, market, the same location for the earlier test of the Mac Jr. And Grand Mac that it will introduce nationally in early 2017.

In addition to having exclusive access to a Sriracha Big Mac, Columbus diners can order Sriracha Mac Sauce on any item on McDonald’s menu and/or get the spicy sauce in a mini tub for dipping fries or Chicken McNuggets. The Sriracha Big Mac and Sriracha Mac Sauce will be available in Columbus through Dec. 31, 2016.

“We’re always trying new creations and we wanted to innovate with an on-trend flavor like Sriracha to give our customers in Columbus a new and exciting taste,” McDonald’s Chef Mike Haracz said in a statement announcing the test.This is the first time McDonald’s has tried Sriracha Mac Sauce on the Big Mac itself, but it continues a love-affair with sriracha that began in early summer, as BurgerBusiness.com has documented:

→ June 2016: McDonald’s offers a “Signature Sriracha” toppings combination (Sriracha Big Mac sauce, white Cheddar cheese, crispy onions, a new spinach/kale blend and tomato) in San Diego as part of its test of the Signature Crafted Recipes platform in San Diego.

→ October 2016: BurgerBusiness.com reported exclusively that on Sept. 23, 2016, McDonald’s Corp. filed a federal trademark registration for “Mac Sauce.” Not Big Mac Sauce, just Mac Sauce. And Mac Sauce is the term being used now for the Columbus Sriracha Big Mac test.

I speculated then that McDonald’s might be eying taking bottled Mac Sauce to supermarket shelves—as it did with McCafé coffee—and I still think that’s a reasonable possibility.